Ogdensburg man heading to Florida as part of Salvation Army relief team that will assist in areas impacted by Hurricane Irma

Tuesday, September 12, 2017 - 5:59 am

An Ogdensburg man is deploying Florida as part of a Salvation Army relief team headed to help out in areas devastated by Hurricane Irma.

Lt. Shaun McNeal will deploy with the Eastern Territory Incident Management Assistance Team 1 as a safety officer.

The hurricane, which made landfall over the weekend, has devastated southern Florida and left as many as 6 million people without power. At least four people have died, and the full extent of the damage is not yet known, the New York Times reported on Monday.

"The Salvation Army mobile emergency feeding teams, hydration vehicles, and personnel are moving through the affected areas to provide food, water and hot drinks, as well as emotional and spiritual support. This will continue until it is no longer needed," the organization said in a Monday news release.

As of 2:30 p.m. Monday in the area affected by Hurricane Irma, they had deployed 18 mobile feeding units that can serve up to 1.500 meals per day; served 45,890 meals, 42,069 drinks and 20,526 snacks; sheltered 3,077 people; distributed 180 comfort kits; provided 8,876 hours of employee and volunteer service and provided emotional and spiritual support to 4,802 first responders and survivors, according to the release.

People who want to donate to the Salvation Army's relief efforts can do so at helpsalvationarmy.org, by calling 1-800-725-2769, texting STORM to 51555, or mailing checks to The Salvation Army, PO Box 1959, Atlanta, GA 30301 and write "Hurricane 2017" in the memo line.